EPHESIANS
The Mystery Revealed!
Lesson 4: “Therefore Remember”
Class Leaders’ Preparation Guide
Scripture Reference: Ephesians 2:11-22
You are encouraged to begin each class with prayer and reading of the Scripture Reference. Try to ensure a full 45-minute class interaction period devoted to the 5 class activities
Suggested Answers to Daily Home Study Questions
The following suggested answers to the daily home study questions are provided to facilitate your preparation for leading your Sunday Bible class discussion. Remember that these daily questions were provided to encourage the class members toward developing a daily personal Bible study and meditation routine. Though the suggested answers provided here should help you prepare for Sunday, remember that on Sunday you will only use the five numbered Class Interaction and Encouragement activities. Otherwise you will have no possibility of finishing. As the quarter proceeds, your faithfulness to this approach should encourage more and more class members to study at home. Let no week pass without encouraging them to do so.
Monday’s Questions:
In regard to their former lives, how did Paul in verses 11-12 describe the saints at Ephesus who were Gentiles by birth?
•In regard to their former lives, Paul in verses 11-12 described the Ephesians who wereGentiles by birth as:
•Called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (verse 11);
•Separate from Christ (verse 12);
•Excluded from citizenship in Israel (verse 12);
•Foreigners to the covenants of the promise (verse 12);
•Without hope (verse 12); and
•Without God in the world (verse 12).
Contrast this description with his description of them in Christ in verses 13-22.
•By contrast, Paul in verses 13-22 described the Ephesians in Christ as:
•Having been brought near through the blood of Christ (verse 13);
•Having Christ as their peace (verse 14);
•Having been made one with those with whom they had been hostile (verse 14);
•No longer having a barrier or dividing wall of hostility between them and Israel (verse 14);
•Not having to live under a law with its commandments and regulations (verse 15);
•Reconciled to God through the cross, by which God put to death their hostility (verse 16);
•Sharing the message of peace with those who were near (verse 17);
•Having the same access to the Father as did Israel, through the one Spirit (verse 18);
•Being no longer foreigners and aliens (verse 19);
•Being now fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household (verse 19);
•Being part of the whole building that is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord, with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone (verses 20-21); and
•Being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit (verse 22).
How does this description relate to us today? To you?
•This relates to us in the same way as it did to the Ephesians for we, too, were Gentiles outside of Christ and without hope and without God in the world.
•When we contrast who we are and what we have in Jesus Christ with who we were and what we lacked before we believed and placed our faith in Christ by responding to the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation (see 1:13-14, Lesson 1), we should be humbled and awestricken! Those of us who were fortunate enough to be reared in “good families” and influenced by “good people” perhaps lose sight of what we did not have before we became Christians and what we do have in Christ. It is important that we continually remember this contrast and express our gratitude to our heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit who makes us one.
Tuesday’s Questions:
What did Jesus’ death destroy? What did his death create? How? Why?
•Jesus’ death destroyed:
•Their separation from Christ and exclusion from citizenship in Israel (verse 12);
•Their exclusion from the covenants of the promise (verse 12);
•The vast distance between the Gentiles and the children of Israel (verse 13);
•The barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, between them and the children of Israel (verse 14);
•In his flesh, the law with its commandments and regulations (verse 15); and
•The separation and hostility between them and God (verse 16).
•Jesus’ death created:
•Their inclusion in Christ, citizenship in Israel, inheritors of the covenants of the promise, hope and God in the world (verse 12);
•Nearness to God and to the people of God through the blood of Jesus (verse 13);
•Peace and unity with those toward whom they had been hostile (verse 14);
•One new man out of the two, thus making peace (verse 15);
•Reconciliation of both to God through the cross, by which their hostility was put to death (verse 16);
•Peace to those who were far away and those who were near (verse 17);
•Access to the Father through one Spirit (verse 18);
•Fellowship and citizenship with God’s people (verse 19);
•Membership in God’s household (verse 19); and
•The cornerstone of the building and holy temple into which they were joined together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit (verse 20-22).
•All these things came through the blood of Christ (verse 13) as he abolished in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations (verse 15). “His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility” (verses 15b-16).
What single words best describe the result of what Jesus did and how God uses it?
•Single words that best describe the result of what Jesus did and how God uses it include:
1
•Remember (verses 11 and 12);
•Nearness (verses 13 and 17);
•Peace (verses 14-17);
•Unity (verses 14-16);
•Reconciliation (verse 16);
•Access (verse 18);
•Citizens (verse 19);
•Members (verse 19);
•Household (verse 19);
•Joined (verse 21);
•Together (verses 21 and 22);
•Rises (verse 21);
•Holy (verse 21);
•Temple (verse 21); and
•Dwelling (verse 22).
1
•These words should carry powerful significance for us every day of our lives, for they vividly contrast what we have in Christ Jesus that we did not have outside Christ. We should “therefore remember” every day!!
What do these words mean to you?
•[Class Leader: Here is a good place for you personally to relate what these words mean to you, and then to give the class members an opportunity to share their own feelings.]
Wednesday’s Questions:
How is it that the death of one person can possibly unite diverse and hostile peoples (verse 14)?
•The fact that the death of one person could have united diverse and hostile peoples is what we learned in Lesson 1 is “the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment–to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ” (Ephesians 1:9-10). Only by the death of the Son of God could we have been chosen “ in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will–to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding” (Ephesians 1:4-8).
What is the source of power for achieving such unity?
•The source of power for achieving this unity is the cross of Jesus Christ and the blood that Jesus shed there for our sins (2:13-16), “ according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ ” (1:9).
How does this potentially affect the way you relate to others generally? The way you relate to others in Christ?
•If God, from before the creation of the world (1:4 in Lesson 1), could put into effect a plan whereby enemies would be brought together in unity, fellowship, and holiness through the death of His only Son, shouldn’t this tell us something about how we should look at others who in our definition of things are our “enemies”? Did Jesus just die for us? Or didn’t he die for all mankind that every person might be reconciled to God through the mystery of the cross, and that we might so live as to make “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” (1:13 in Lesson 1) evident and meaningful to those we might call our enemies?
•If Jesus is himself our peace, and we have been made “one new man” (verse 15) in him, reconciled not only to God but also to one another, then we should so live as brothers and sisters that absolutely nothing can come between us. We learned in Lesson 1 (1:13-14) that when we believe, we are marked with God’s Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance, to the praise of God’s glory. But we learn from verses 21-22 in this lesson that we are all joined together with Jesus as the cornerstone and rise to become a holy temple in the Lord. Verse 22 makes it clear that as we are built together in unity into this holy temple, God lives in this temple by his Spirit. So it is not just in us individually that God’s Holy Spirit dwells; He dwells in us as a body of believers as we are united and built up into a beautiful temple, the dwelling of God, the body of Christ, his church! We should so live as praise God’s glorious grace and ever remain awestricken with the mystery and wisdom of his plan!!
Thursday’s Questions:
What is the significance of “remembering” who you formerly were and how you lived before you became a follower of Jesus?
•We learned in Lesson 1 that God “ has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (verse 1:3) and in Lesson 3 how before we became Christians we “ were by nature objects of wrath” (verse 2:3). We also learned in Lesson 3 that before we were in Christ, we were dead in our transgressions and sins (verse 2:1), “ gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts” (verse 2:3), whereas “ God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions ” (verse 2:4). If we fail to remember these infinitely important distinctions, we will easily fall back and gratify the cravings of our sinful nature and follow its desires and thoughts. If we remember what God has done for us through Jesus Christ and his Spirit, it is far easier to live each day in humble gratitude for our salvation in Christ and live to the praise of God’s glorious grace.
Considering the word “therefore” in verse 11 and what you learned in Lesson 3, what is the reason why Paul told the Ephesians to “remember”?
•Paul used the word “therefore” in verse 11 because he knew the importance of fulfilling God’s workmanship in us; that is, we were “ created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (verse 10, Lesson 3). We cannot fulfill our purpose in Jesus Christ if we forget the distinction between living in gratification of our sinful nature on the one hand versus living to the praise of God’s glorious grace and purpose in us who believe on the other hand.
At what times should you practice such “remembering”?
•We should practice this “remembering” every day of our lives and make that “remembering” a continual consciousness and alive in all our motivations. We should also remember and celebrate at those special times we as Christians come together in worship, study, prayer, and other activities. Our time around the Table of our Lord is a time of special remembrance of what God has done for us in making us one in Jesus! We should NEVER FORGET!!
Friday’s Questions:
What is significant about the terms Paul used in verses 19-22 to describe who the Gentiles had become in Christ Jesus?
•The terms Paul used to describe who the Gentiles had become in Christ were:
•No longer foreigners and aliens;
•Fellow citizens with God’s people;
•Members of God’s household;
•Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets;
•With Christ Jesus himself as 1the chief cornerstone;
•In him, joined together with God’s people to become a holy temple in the Lord; and
•In him, being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
What made his use of these terms meaningful?
•These terms were meaningful both to the Gentiles and to the people of Israel. The people of Israel saw themselves as the people of God and called themselves “the circumcision” (verse 11), while they referred to the Gentiles as “uncircumcised” (verse 11). The Gentiles had been “far away” from God and without hope in the world (verses12-13). Further, there was a “dividing wall of hostility” between the Gentiles and the Israelites (verse 14) that created a barrier between them. The terms Paul used were terms that described the newfound unity relationship between the two hostile peoples. These terms made it clear to both peoples that God’s people are not limited to those with the laws and commandments (verse 15), but include all those who are in Christ and joined together by God’s Spirit living in them.
How should this make us relate to one another as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ?
•Though we refer to others in Christ as brothers and sisters and “members of the church,” we rarely refer to our collective selves as a holy temple in the Lord, or a building built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, or a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. When we use terms similar to these, we most frequently use them in the context of singularity in reference to each of us individually. However, Paul makes it clear that “the mystery” of God’s will is the bringing of “ all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ” (1:9-10 in Lesson 1). The terms he used in the present text reinforce our relationship and fellowship in Christ and how we are all joined together and built together in unity and peace where before there were barriers and hostility. Paul’s message is that we are together a holy temple and God’s dwelling place. This should make us all relate to one another in ways that reinforce and strengthen the bond that the cross of Christ and his blood gives us in him! It should cast a whole new meaning on what it is that binds us together, for it is not common worldly interests, but the love and plan of God through Christ’s death that we are not just brothers and sisters and members, but one in Christ!!
Saturday’s Questions:
Who is the “whole building” to which Paul refers in verse 21?
•The “whole building” in verse 21 refers to the inclusion of the Gentiles with the Israelites as the people of God.
According to this text, how are foreigners and aliens (verse 19) and diverse and hostile people (verse 14) joined to become “a holy temple” and “dwelling in which God lives” (verses 21-22)?
•Paul says in verse 21 that it is “in him” (i.e., in Christ Jesus) that “ the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.” He adds in verse 22 that it is “in him” that the Gentiles were “ being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Such unity is only in Jesus Christ!! And the building will only be strong if it is “ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (verse 20).
How does God live in this “temple”? Who is the “whole building” today?
•Paul says that God lives in this temple “by his Spirit” (verse 22). Though we frequently refer to how God’s Holy Spirit was given to us when we believed the gospel of our salvation (1:13-14 in Lesson 1), and how the Spirit lives in each of us individually, we rarely speak of how God, by his Spirit, lives in us in the collective sense used by Paul in verses 19-22. This provides a whole new level of insight into what it means to be part of the body of Christ, part of a holy temple in the Lord, and part of a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit!! It should make us think of our relationship in Christ with new and empowered meaning! It should bring a much clearer insight into what it means for us to assemble around the Lord’s Table every first day of the week!
What kind of stone are you in this temple?
•Each class member will have a personal response to this question. What is yours?
Sunday’s Questions:
Again noting the word “therefore” in verse 11 and recalling what you learned in Lesson 3, what part do we play in “building” the holy temple in which God lives?
•When we understand and appreciate how we are being built into a holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling place in which God lives by his Spirit, and then contrast who we were without and out of Christ, it becomes ever so important for us to remember that we were once without hope and God in the world. Understanding what Paul said about us being joined together and rising to become a holy temple, in contrast to the barriers and hostility we had outside Christ, should make us all determined to “remember” every day who we are and from where we came because of God’s glorious grace. This daily “remembrance” should drastically affect the way we live and relate to one another in Christ and to those who are lost and without hope and God in the world!